Joanne's son, Robbie, is the reigning Peninsula District player of the year and a two-way star at pitcher and shortstop for Menchville, atop the PD standings at 7-0. Her nephew and Kathie's son, Aaron, is a junior shortstop and has helped Denbigh to a 6-1 PD record.

Robbie and Aaron Watkins are continuing a family tradition three generations old -- albeit on the opposing teams dictated by where they live.

The boys' grandfather, Turner Watkins, played baseball, while their grandmother, Ann, played softball. Jerry Watkins, 54, Robbie's dad and Menchville's pitching coach, was a pitcher at Newport News High School before going on to play at Virginia Tech. His brother and Aaron's father, Kent, 47, was an infielder at Warwick. Kent's older son, Anthony, was an MVP pitcher at Denbigh.

"We have that in common," Ann Watkins says. "That has drawn us together."

At least twice a year, her words take on a literal meaning, when Robbie Watkins' Menchville team takes on Aaron's Denbigh squad. Watkinses pack the stands to watch the first cousins face off.

On March 28, Robbie Watkins hit two solo home runs and pitched a complete game as Menchville overcame Aaron Watkins' two-run single for an 8-5 victory. The relatives' rivalry resumes when the teams clash again on May 2.

"It's exciting. I love it," Aaron Watkins says. "It's a lot of pressure, but it's all in the family. I just always come up there ready to roll."

Robbie Watkins -- even with the fastball that landed him a scholarship to Old Dominion -- doesn't enjoy seeing his cousin, wearing an identical No. 11 on his back, step into the batter's box.

"He's the hardest hitter in that lineup," Robbie Watkins says. "He's a good contact hitter. He always tries to put it in play no matter what I throw. I always try to get ahead of him first pitch, but he ruined that last game."

The obvious bond that keeps Robbie and Aaron jabbering on the phone and hanging out on the golf course -- and once saw them date sisters -- isn't damaged by their on-field sparring.

"If Robbie hits a double off the wall or something, I'm the first person to meet him at second (and) say, 'Nice hit,' " Aaron says.

"Regardless of which team wins, we're on the winning side," Ann Watkins says. " ... It really is nice when Robbie gets more than 10 strikeouts, which he does a lot of times. And then Aaron, it was really nice the other day when he stole four bases."

But the competition, however friendly, can cause conflicting emotions.

"It's hard on me," Kent Watkins says. "It's hard. You got your loyalty for your son, but you got loyalty for your nephew, too. ... You don't root against Robbie, but at the same time, you don't want him hitting six home runs and killing you."

That's a real possibility for a player who hit .511 last season. Aaron, who doubles as a closer in Denbigh's bullpen, has no doubt how he'd pitch his dangerous cousin if he ever faced him.

That's a familiar familial sound, bubbling up again as Kathie remembers trying to attend Aaron's junior-varsity and Anthony's varsity games. "I would go to all the home games and (Kent) would go to all the away games so there was one parent at each of them no matter what," she says.

Kathie now watches her son play from the Denbigh concession stand, where customers sometimes have to wait for their Cokes until Aaron finishes batting. Joanne sits squarely behind home plate at Menchville, keeping score for the Monarchs and sometimes hollering to her son what the on-deck hitter did in his last at-bat.

"It's really something special," Aaron Watkins says. "Not many families show up at the games, actually, so when you look at the stands and you see your whole family -- especially at Denbigh-Menchville games, you see your whole family -- it's really special."

Next year, Aaron Watkins expects facing Menchville to be "lonely." But the family doesn't think there'll be any added significance when the cousins meet again next month for what could be the final time.

"They're gonna expect to see each other in the postseason," Joanne Watkins says. *